Finally, I know the name of Riot's mascot!! Okay kids, time to share some thoughts on the band that has made more comebacks than Porsche Lynn. Feel free to discuss Tior himself, furry lil' weirdo that he is...

Ya know, I'd never heard Riot until the other day while in a second hand store, where they had three of their cd's. Listened to one of em and dug it. I'm going to pick up all three today if I can....I'm glad this board is here to make such recommendations, because man, have my horizons expanded since I started coming to HardRadio.com!

The thing I always liked about Riot (or more accurately the Mark Reale Band), is their perseverance. Forget trends. Forget fashion. They just simply keep doing their thing -- and doing it surprisingly well -- for decades. You have to respect the bands integrity and determination. The most under-appreciated U.S. band?

And why the hell do they have a baby seal as their mascot? Who thought of that? Guess there was a lot of real fine weed in the New York area in the 70s.

He's a seal..but he's got the body of a man!! Don't know quite why I typed that last sentence. Indeed, Riot is UNDOUBTEDLY the most overrated band in the history of hard rock/ heavy metal. If any one can offer challengers to this dubious honor, come forth.

Matt, perhaps you could give some thoughts on why you think they are the most overrated band of all time? To me, there is no way they are overrated. They put out 2 of the best metal albums of their time (Narita, Fire Down Under) and had a complete style of their own. I don't recall any other American band playing this style of music at the time. Their songs were hard and fast with good guitar work. They hardly got any radio play, tho I recall hearin gOutlaw on the rock stations back in the day, and no publicity that I ever saw. Restless Breed was a good album as well but I didn't like Forrester as much compared to Speranza. I haven't gotten anything since, but wish to pick up their 2 latest when I get the chance. I got to see them, as Death say The Mark Reale Band cause other than him I dont know who was in it at the time, around 1990. They put on a great show. Riot, like UFO, and early MSG (and now late MST too), and Y&T, should have been much bigger.

Considering Riot, after 20 or so years, has absolutely no profile whatsoever in this country, despite putting out classic albums like "Fire Down Under," I'm hard pressed to see how they could be OVERrated here.